Rasim Ljajić, Minister of Labour and Social Policy

Born in Novi Pazar in 1964. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo. From 1989 to 2000 he worked as a journalist for numerous dailies and periodicals across the former Yugoslavia. Since 1994, he has been president of the Sandzak Coalition, which was renamed into the Sandzak Democratic Party in 2000. After the 2000 changes, he was elected Yugoslav Minister of National and Ethnic Communities. After the December 2000 crisis in the south of Serbia, he was named president of the Coordinating Body for Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. In August 2001, he became Vice President of the Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija. After the signing of the Belgrade Agreement in March 2003, he became Serbia-Montenegrin Minister of Human and Minority Rights. From 2003 to 2006, he was co-presiding over the joint committee for cooperation with Arab countries. Since July 2004, he has been president of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY and since July 2006 he has been coordinator for implementation of the Action Plan for cooperation with the ICTY. Since September 2005, he has been president of the Coordinating Body for Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. Married, with two children. Speaks English and Russian.